Soil Types

[Joker]

Dang....how long you been appraising farms? Don't think I could ever be that good, but I have heard of others who can do the same

About 15 years. Of course growing up in and around ag and going to a college where ag is a top major, and knowing the local market doesn't hurt.

Actually the website has all of that and more, it gives everything that the books did plus you can zoom into the property you're doing and it will show you the types of soils, the limitations and suitabilities and highlight those areas in COLOR.

I remember back in the day when we had to color the map ourselves to highlight the soils

The soil associations and types are coded so ToA means Taloka and "A" means its level. B some sloped and C, D, steeper steeper.

I work in a neat area to study ag and soils. To the north about 15 miles is where the glaciers went so the land is flat and fertile (Brookston A 0-2% slope). In my immediate neighborhood is where the glaciers dumped the rocks, soil, and other debris. The soil types are diverse and the slopes are typically c slopes or greater, with some f and g slopes.

 

[murray stroupe]

Re; 3 .types

If you are new to appraising rural land I would be careful not to become more sophisticated than your market. There are a lot of areas that soils play a big part in what a place sells for, but there are a lot of rural areas that is not the case. I have seen a lot of appraisers talk soils up a lot because it makes for good boiler plate, but in some areas you ask 9 out of 10 buyers what kind of soils they have and they don't know. In my area of Texas most buyers know whether it is sandy ground or not, beyond that they don't know. If you are in cropland areas they are much more likely to pay attention to that. But even in those areas it often boils down to 3 soil types - good, decent, and sorry but it joined me. Just because there may be 9 soil types in an area doesn't mean there has to be 9 adjustment categories.

===============
Sandy, easy ,farmguy;
especially in a drought.

 

[Willie]

I work in a neat area to study ag and soils. To the north about 15 miles is where the glaciers went so the land is flat and fertile (Brookston A 0-2% slope). In my immediate neighborhood is where the glaciers dumped the rocks, soil, and other debris. The soil types are diverse and the slopes are typically c slopes or greater, with some f and g slopes.

Has the area on the ground you put your post 7 year old old bull **** files been newly classifed? It should make for some nice fertilizer. :icon_mrgreen:



Bull **** (BS) - Very localized to Jokers barn area. These soils are not only deep, but highly piled soils, based on 15 years of old fully deteriorated appraisal files. Fragmented wood/paper like soil with some old ink traces. Very good for growing row crops. Adds or contributes value in no other known way, now or in the past. :laugh:

 

[Stone]

The website has everything the books do and I think is more user friendly because you can get the info for just your parcel.

Best of luck.

I agree with you and have gone from using the books to the WSS site, as well. After a few times creating an AOI, it is quicker for me to draw it out then it is to get a book, find the page, etc. Also, you can cut and paste the soils into your report, or if you are so inclined, create a report to include. I always create a report for my subject and keep it in my file (computer). I do not keep a copy of the sales, but it is still quicker, IMO.

One bit of advice to the OP. If you do get the books, beware that (at least here in WI), the soil abbreviations are not 100% universal. They do vary from county to county, so be sure that the abbreviation comes from the correct book.

I cannot say enough about the WSS site. It is really user-friendly once you get a handle on it. The only downside is that they have had a few glitches since they upgraded it late in the summer. That will get worked out.

I haven't cracked a soils book in some time.

 

[SharperImage]

One bit of advice to the OP. If you do get the books, beware that (at least here in WI), the soil abbreviations are not 100% universal. They do vary from county to county, so be sure that the abbreviation comes from the correct book.



I've got almost every county on my bookshelf. Does anyone want to buy them?

 

[Willie]

Another piece of advice. The soil maps are the AVM's of soil mapping. A decent reference, but if you really want to know soil detail, you need to put the land on grid stakes at some reasonable point, maybe 50' or 100' or 200' or whatever, and have a soil scientist tell you what each punched hole is. Not to underestimate the mass soil mapping, but it is just that, mass.

 

[farmguy]

Willie,
Do buyers in your area use soil scientists to map tracts they are contimplating purchasing?

 

[Willie]

Willie,
Do buyers in your area use soil scientists to map tracts they are contimplating purchasing?

ag guys, nope. developer guys, if they are smart, yep, to some extent, in my area. I am in agreement with you that ag buyers don't pay too much attention to the soil breakdowns if they have a general feel, so the soil map info can be moot to the market. Not only are the buyers not looking at the soil maps, even if they did, they are not that as accurate as what would be revealed by a soil scientist, so again, it kind of is moot, in my area, when speaking of ag purposes.

 

[Stone]

ag guys, nope. developer guys, if they are smart, yep, to some extent, in my area. I am in agreement with you that ag buyers don't pay too much attention to the soil breakdowns if they have a general feel, so the soil map info can be moot to the market. Not only are the buyers not looking at the soil maps, even if they did, they are not that as accurate as what would be revealed by a soil scientist, so again, it kind of is moot, in my area, when speaking of ag purposes.

That doesn't hold true for much of my market area. Farmers frequently are aware of the types of soils they have. (Of course, that is particularly true when they have highly productive soils...kind of like homeowners who are more aware of their house when they upgrade:new_smile-l: )

The soil mapping is a general overlay. It helps a lot in the big picture, but you wouldn't make an engineering decision based on them. I find the on-line (WSS) soil maps to be more detailed. I suppose that is partly because many of the soil survey books available at the NRCS offices are from the 1960s.

However, I do know that soils vary much more frequently within a tract than the soil surveys will ever be able to show. When appraising rural tracts, soil mapping is another tool. Of course a soil scientist can tell you more. Kind of like how a timber harvest will reveal more than my site inspection, or a structural engineer (or home inspection, even) will be able to tell you more about site improvements than I can.

 

[farmguy]

Just checking. I agree with you both.